Carissa and I have recently returned from 3 months living and working in the beautiful snowy mountains. The answer is yes- it really was as fun as it sounds. The snow was fantastic and there was never any shortage of folk coming down to visit and take advantage of the free couch. Our lovely flatmate Jen was very gracious in accommodating all our couch-surfing friends. Carissa worked at the Thredbo Pharmacy where sunscreen, crutches, Dencorub and knee braces were the order of the day. I worked in hospitality for a resort owned by Perisher which meant a free season pass. Carissa [View Full Entry]

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Carissa and I have just arrived home from a two week sojourn to Bali and I have nothing but good things to report. If there is a supposed crisis of the financial variety unfolding in various parts of the globe, somebody obviously forgot to inform the Balinese. Although it took a little adjusting, we soon adapted to the less than hectic pace enjoyed by many of the locals and expats alike. It would seem many Australians call Bali home for months on end, chasing waves and enjoying the good food, warm weather and cheap lodgings dotted throughout this amazing island. Morning [View Full Entry]

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Hello All, Carissa and I have recently returned from the Byron Bay mud, I mean Bluesfest held over Easter. What is it with us and music festivals? It seems we have an uncanny ability, in the words of one of the performers, Mr Tim Finn, to 'bring the weather with you'. That being said Bluesfest did not dissapoint and Carissa, myself, and Rhys enjoyed many of the acts including Ben Harper, Michael Franti and the unstoppable John Butler. Rhys and I also managed a fantastic surf at Lennox Head on the way to Byron, despite risking our lives getting in and [View Full Entry]

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South Australia's license plate reads: 'The Festival State,' which it would seem is right on the money. Summer here is awash with festivals, events, street parties and sporting events, including the jewel in the city’s crown the Clipsal 500 (V8 Supercars racing through the Adelaide CBD). Carissa and I have enjoyed finding ourselves smack bang in the middle of it all and are sad to be leaving this vibrant part of the world. Despite some soaring temperatures, we have managed to get around and see a lot of Adelaide and its surrounds, including the Barossa, Adelaide Hills and Glenelg&rsquo [View Full Entry]

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With Christmas 2008 already a mere memory, Carissa and I took to the open road again en-route to our next destination: Adelaide. We actually managed a head start this time as my sister and her husband had done a lot of the hard work for us, leaving the van at Avalon airport having toured the NSW and VIC east coast. First stop was the Geelong botanical gardnens where we walked through a desert garden thriving on very little water, before arriving at Torquay. Torquay is considered the birthplace of surfing in Australia and home to one of the most famous surf [View Full Entry]

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Alas, our time in Tas has drawn to a close. I have provided some key phrases to best sum up our time here in the Apple Isle (if you look closely you may stumble across a common theme): “It’s raining cats and dogs", "Nice weather for ducks", "It’s bucketing down." Yes, the precipitation has been at times intense, but despite the generous proportion of water that has fallen from the heavens Carissa and I have enjoyed our time down under immensely. We have spent the last month in the township of Nubeena, a small coastal hamlet located on the south-western side [View Full Entry]

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We had only been bush walking for approximately 2 hours- but a mere dawdle I realise for some of you more hardened walkers out there… However, it was at this point that I finally had to admit the stark truth which I had been denying since setting out from the relative safety of Lee’s Hut in near 0 temperatures and driving rain. I was absolutely freezing. This obviously meant that Carissa had probably been freezing a whole lot longer but to her credit managed to keep this startling revelation to herself. What is it they say about the best laid plans? [View Full Entry]

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Flemington Racecourse, Melbourne: approximately 3.04pm. A collective sigh goes up from the crowd. It seems no one had fancied the Bart Cummings long shot… No.10 Viewed. Along with 106,000 other happy race-goers, my good mate Chris and I, along with his cousins (hailing from Melbourne) made our way to Flemington for one of the world’s most prestigious horse races. Now let me say I know absolutely nothing about horse racing, other than that betting on them is a mug’s game. However, that being said I think I was probably one of only a handful of people cheering on the rou [View Full Entry]

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Well the 'big thaw' is well and truly underway- Tasmania is throwing off the blankets now that spring has finally sprung..... We are currently in Launceston where Carissa is working, having just completed a 6 week stint in Smithton, North - West Tasmania. We were spoiled by the kind hospitality of the House family who own and manage the local pharmacy, where Carissa worked while Murray was able to recoup after far too long without a break. Smithton and the surrounding region of Circular Head are rural in nature and are particularly green due to frequent rain. Very frequent rain. Smithton [View Full Entry]

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How much fun is a road trip? Yes, this is a rhetorical question. Carissa and I have just spent the last week making our way over land (and water) to the great south land - TASSIE. Having made our way down to Melbourne in plenty of time, we decided to venture a little further south to check out the Mornington Peninsula. We made our way via Mornington around the bay to Sorrento, where we biked our way through the national park to point Nepean (the Eastern point at the mouth of Port Phillip Bay). The results are in: huge surf, absolutely [View Full Entry]

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